234 Rod and Tackle. Chapt. xvni. 



diluted sulphuric acid is recommended for mixing with water in 

 which the cocoon of the tussa silkworm is boiled ; and of the 

 Attain* Alio* it is .said "the silk is difficult to reel, though it 

 yields partially if boiled in vinegar." But this very objection 

 becomes a decided recommendation from a fisherman's point of 

 view, for the stronger the gluten the less likely the gut is to 

 fray in water, as ordinary silkworm gut will when worn. 



To aid recognition by those who do not know the tussa 

 silk-motb, I quote an extract from a description by Dr. Sliortt, 

 F.L.S., F.Z.S., etc., of Madras :— " The male and female moths differ 

 " in size, the male measuring from the tip of one wing to the other 

 " between 4 and 5 inches, whilst the female measures from 6 to 

 " 7 inches in expanse of wing ; both are of a uniform yellowish 

 " brown, having a couple of lunated transparent talc-like spots on 

 " each wing, and it is chiefly in the form of these spots that they 

 " differ from other ninths of the same kind." 



An exhaustive history of these and other silkworms, their food 

 and culture, will be found in an official report on "Silk in India," 

 by J. Geoghegen, Under-Secretary to the Government in India, 

 Department of Agriculture, Revenue, and Commerce, and published 

 at the Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, 

 Calcutta. 



I'm- llv fishing fur the smaller fish a light single-handed rod 



nf Id feet in length is the luxury. You shmdd 



have an extra top in case of accidents, and a 



short stout spinning top is an advantage ; not that you will use it 



for spinning in India, but for bottom fishing for Labeos, as stated in 



Chapter XII. 



For Mahseer, however, you want a double-handed salmon rod 

 and 16 feet is quite long enough. 1 have had 17 feet and 19 feet, 



and prefer ll> feet. 



The Irish rods, with splices instead of ferrules, play the best 

 Prom em! to end, if you will be troubled with putting them 

 together, and if you will also do s,. thoroughly tightly, so that thej 

 are like one piece; hut most fishermen will not he <n bothered in 

 s]iiie of their proverbial patience. 



On no account buy a rod with a screvi inside the ferrule; the 

 screw always wears, and then the rings do not come in Hue, and 

 the joints are always stiff and unbend 



